The stock market is something that school kids hear about every day—on the news, in class, at the dinner table. They probably know that it's somehow closely related to the economy and economic good and bad times, but beyond vaguely sensing that the stock market is a sort of economic barometer, they may have little practical knowledge about what it is and how it works. This book provides both a broad overview of stock trading and a more fine-grained, "insider" perspective on the international buying and selling that both drives the economy and reflects its health, that both funds corporations and measures their performance, and that increasingly plays a central role in either wealth creation or wealth loss for ordinary American families. It's essential reading for all young people who will soon be embarking on their adult lives and making crucial decisions about their own money.